Even as the camp backing Bhairon Singh Shekhawat for the post of President continues to struggle for enough numbers, the NDA on Wednesday alleged that the government is tapping the phones of their leaders and sought the Election Commission?s (EC) intervention to ?protect? their privacy.
Claiming that her mobile phone gets connected to Police Control Room whenever she dials up her residence, senior BJP leader and Shekhawat?s spokesperson Sushma Swaraj alleged, ?It?s not only me, even BJP leader SS Ahluwalia and JD (U)?s Digvijay Singh, a key strategist in the Shekhawat campaign, have been under surveillance over the past one week.?
She claimed the two leaders have been unable to make calls from their phones many times because of failed connections.
?We would like to request the EC to ensure that no phone lines are being tapped,? she said, adding she would also write complaints to the the telecom minister and the MTNL chief. She alleged that their campaign strategy was being spied on.
?Our confidentiality is being disturbed, our communication systems are being frustrated,? she said and sought to draw a parallel between her phone tapping allegations and the Watergate scandal involving illegal wiretapping of Democratic party offices in the US in 1972.
Meanwhile, rubbishing the allegations, the Congress ridiculed the NDA leaders by claiming them to be insignificant in their scheme of things. ?Are they so important? Why should we waste our resources?,? Union minister and Congress spokesman Renuka Chaudhary told reporters when asked to comment on Swaraj?s charges.